Astana Cycling Team

July 8, 2010 - MARCA - Alberto Contador has already decided his future. He will stay with Astana, save some last-minute surprise. His brother and representative, Fran Contador, has confirmed the situation in an interview for Biciciclismo in which he says that only “some nuances” are lacking before closing on a contract that will tie the Pinteño to the Kazakh team for the next “two or three years.”

“We’ve already had a meeting with the sponsors, we only have to come to an agreement about some nuances and I think that there won’t be major problems. The duration of the contract isn’t definite, although it will be a minimum of two years, it’s something that we have to discuss but it will be two or three years,” he said.

Alberto is very happy with the effort made by the Kazakh directors to round up a team confident of success for this Tour after going through the dismantling of his team following the departure of Bruyneel and Lance Armstrong to form a new team, RadioShack.

Furthermore, he is in perfect sync with the squad’s directors, Yvon Sanquer and Giuseppe Martinelli. Not in vain, they have taken care of his requests whenever they could, like the hiring of Óscar Pereiro as super-domestique, even though in the end he wasn’t included among the nine cyclists that they took to the startline of the Tour in Rotterdam.

Contador’s brother expects that the agreement will be resolved as soon as possible so that he can focus on this season’s goals, among whch could be the Vuelta a España. “We don’t have a specific date marked on the calendar. As soon as we’re square about things, it will be fully closed. During the Tour or when the Tour finishes, but as soon as possible,” he underscored.

Contador’s intention to stay with the Kazakh team caused other options which have been the talk in the last few months to evaporate, like the creation of a team by Fernando Alonso in which the Madrileño would be the biggest star. Non-Spanish teams like Quick Step were also interested in his services, but it seems that Contador does not want to take on a new venture blindly.

“The sponsors are very interested in staying with this project and in making the best team around Alberto. It is his wish. This year, in spite of all the disadvantages and being behind schedule, they’ve taken a good team forward and it can get better,” said Contador’s brother and representative, who is now entrusted with closing the contract deal according to the financial requirements of the two-time Tour-winner.

For updates, see the Alberto Contador Notebook